Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a work vehicle such as a tractor.
Description of Related Art
(1) First Related Art
As one example of a work vehicle, there is a tractor disclosed in JP 2011-126531A. This tractor includes: a vehicle body frame; a prime mover unit disposed in a front part of a vehicle body; a driving part disposed in a rear part of the vehicle body; and a battery disposed between the prime mover unit and the driving part, and is also provided with a center pillar (a frame structure) that has a partition part and left and right supporting frame parts made of die cast aluminum, and that is divided into three portions. This center pillar partitions the storage space in the front part of the vehicle body into a first space that is a front space disposed on the same side as the prime mover unit, and a second space that is a rear space disposed on the same side as the battery.
In this tractor, the center pillar made of die cast aluminum is divided into three portions so that a step supporting part that supports left and right front ends of a boarding step, a battery supporting part, an attachment seat that supports a hydraulic controller for power steering, and so on can be integrally installed to the center pillar, and the center pillar is able to carry out multiple functions.
However, with the above-described configuration, three types of dies are required for the partition part, the left supporting frame part, and the right supporting frame part in order to enable the center pillar to carry out multiple functions, and therefore the manufacturing cost required for enabling the center pillar to carry out multiple functions is high. Also, the shape of the center pillar is limited from the view point of releasability, and it is difficult to change the shape of the center pillar when peripheral devices that are to be supported by the center pillar are changed or added.
Therefore, it is desirable to make it easier to change the shape of the center pillar while reducing the manufacturing cost required for enabling the center pillar to carry out multiple functions.
(2) Second Related Art
As another example of a work vehicle, there is a tractor disclosed in JP 2013-139229A. This tractor includes: a supporting plate that supports a battery from below; and a supporting frame that has a shape that straddles the battery such that an installation space for installing the battery is formed between the supporting frame and the supporting plate. The supporting frame is provided with, for example: left and right supporting members; a connecting member that connects upper ends of the left and right supporting members; and an auxiliary member that connects upper and lower intermediate parts of the left and right supporting members is fixed to an upper surface of the supporting plate, and the auxiliary member located close to a positive terminal and a negative terminal of the battery is formed in a straight line that extends above the positive terminal and the negative terminal and spans the left and right supporting member.
With the above-described configuration, when an operator removes the battery from or brings the battery into the installation space for installing the battery in order to perform maintenance on the battery, the operator is required to perform an operation such as lifting up the battery from above the supporting plate, and there is the risk of the positive terminal of the battery being brought into contact with the auxiliary member of the supporting frame.
In other words, it is desirable to avoid the risk of the positive terminal of the battery being brought into contact with the supporting frame and causing a short circuit when removing the battery from or bringing the battery into the installation space.